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Biography
for|the baseball player|Skip James (baseball)Infobox musical artist | name = Skip James| image = Skipjames.jpg| caption = The only photograph of James in his youth.| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Nehemiah Curtis James| alias =| birth_date = birth date|mf=y|1902|6|9 Bentonia, Mississippi|Bentonia , Mississippi , United States| death_date = death date and age|mf=y|1969|10|3|1902|6|9 Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States| instrument = Singing|Vocals , guitar , piano | genre = Delta blues | occupation = Musician , songwriter , preacher | years_active = 1931 1964–1969| label = Paramount Records|Paramount , Vanguard Records|Vanguard , Biograph Records|Biograph , Adelphi Records|Adelphi , Document Records|Document , Snapper Music Group, Universe, Body & Soul, Yazoo, Genes| associated_acts =| website =| notable_instruments =Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi Social Security Death Index 1902 & ndash; October 3, 1969cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p389|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Cub Koda |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=May 30, 2009) was an United States|American Delta blues singing|singer , guitarist , pianist and songwriter . Born in Bentonia, Mississippi|Bentonia , Mississippi , he died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He first learned to play guitar from another bluesman from the area, Henry Stuckey. His guitar playing is noted for its dark, Minor key|minor sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate Fingerstyle|fingerpicking technique. James first recorded for Paramount Records in 1931, but these recordings sold poorly due to the Great Depression , and he drifted into obscurity. After a long absence from the public eye, James was "rediscovered" in 1964 by three blues enthusiasts, helping further the American folk music revival|blues and folk music revival of the 1950s and early 60s. During this period, James appeared at several folk and blues festivals and gave live concerts around the country, also recording several albums for various record label s.
His songs have influenced several generations of musicians, being adapted or covered by Kansas Joe McCoy , Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson , Cream (band)|Cream , Deep Purple (band)|Deep Purple , Chris Thomas King , Alvin Youngblood Hart , The Derek Trucks Band , Beck , Big Sugar , and Rory Block . He is hailed as "one of the seminal figures of the blues."cite web|url= http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/413213341.html? dids=413213341:413213341& FMT=ABS& FMTS=ABS:FT& type=current& date=Sep+28%2C+2003& author=Richard+Cromelin& pub=Los+Angeles+Times& desc=TELEVISION%3B+%27Blues%27+out+of+rhythm%3B+Infinitely+rich+subject+matter+suffers+from+a+lack+of+a+thematic+line+in+the+hands+of+seven+directors+--+though+Wim+Wenders+gets+it+right.& pqatl=google |title=TELEVISION; 'Blues' out of rhythm; Infinitely rich subject matter suffers from a lack of a thematic line in the hands of seven directors - though Wim Wenders gets it right |publisher=Pqasb.pqarchiver.com |date=2003-09-28 |accessdate=2011-12-30
Biography
Early years
James was born near Bentonia, Mississippi. His father was a converted rum-running|bootlegger turned preacher .cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues - From Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher=Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | page= 123 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X As a youth, James heard local musicians such as Henry Stuckey and brothers Charlie and Jesse Sims and began playing the organ in his teens. He worked on road construction and levee -building crews in his native Mississippi in the early 1920s, and wrote what is perhaps his earliest song, "Illinois Blues", about his experiences as a laborer.
In the '20s he sharecropping system|sharecropped and made moonshine|bootleg whiskey in the Bentonia area. He began playing guitar in Crossnote tuning|open D-minor tuning and developed the three-finger picking technique heard in his recordings. In addition, he began to practice piano-playing, drawing inspiration from the Mississippi blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery .
1920s and 1930s
In early 1931, James auditioned for Jackson, Mississippi record shop owner and talent scout H. C. Speir , who placed blues performers with a variety of record label s including Paramount Records . On the strength of this audition, James traveled to Grafton, Wisconsin|Grafton , Wisconsin to sound recording and reproduction|record for Paramount. James's 1931 work is considered idiosyncratic among pre- World War II|war blues recordings, and formed the basis of his reputation as a musician.
As is typical of his era, James recorded a variety of material — blues and Spiritual (music)|spirituals , cover version s and original compositions — frequently blurring the lines between genres and sources. For example, "I'm So Glad" was derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired", which had been recorded in 1928 by both Gene Austin and Lonnie Johnson (the latter under the title "I'm So Tired of Livin' All Alone"). Biographer Stephen Calt, echoing the opinion of several music journalism|critics , considered the finished product totally original, "one of the most extraordinary examples of fingerpicking found in guitar music".
Several of the Grafton recordings, such as "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader", and "22-20 Blues" (the basis for Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson 's better-known " 32-20 Blues ", and the band name for the English group 22-20s ), have proven similarly influential. Very few original copies of James's Paramount 78 RPM s have survived.
The Great Depression struck just as James' recordings were hitting the market. Sales were poor as a result, and James gave up performing the blues to become the choir director in his father's church. James himself was later ordained as a minister in both the Baptist and Methodist denominations, but the extent of his involvement in religious activities is unknown.
Disappearance, rediscovery, and legacy
For the next thirty years, James recorded nothing and drifted in and out of music. He was virtually unknown to listeners until about 1960. In 1964 blues enthusiasts John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey , Bill Barth and Henry Vestine found him in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi . According to Calt, the "rediscovery" of both James and of Son House at virtually the same moment was the start of the "blues revival" in the US.cite book| last = Calt | first = Stephen | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the blues| publisher = Da Capo Press| year = 1994| location = | pages =| url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-306-80579-0 In July 1964 James, along with other rediscovered performers, appeared at the Newport Folk Festival . Several photography|photographs by Dick Waterman captured this first performance in over 30 years. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he recorded for the Takoma Records|Takoma , Melodeon Records|Melodeon , and Vanguard Records|Vanguard labels and played various engagements until his death in Philadelphia from cancer in 1969. http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1960.html Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed December 2009
Although James was not initially cover version|covered as frequently as other rediscovered musicians, British rock band Cream (band)|Cream recorded "I'm So Glad" (a Fresh Cream|studio version and a Goodbye (Cream album)|live version), providing James with the only windfall of his career. Deep Purple also covered "I'm So Glad," on Shades of Deep Purple , and English blues rock band 22-20s named themselves after "22-20 Blues." http://www.rock-city.co.uk/content/EpyykkkypuHSkDwAVm.shtml rock-city.co.uk Singer Dion DiMucci released an album in November 2007 titled Son of Skip James .
Since his death, James's music has become more available and prevalent than during his lifetime — his 1931 recordings, along with several rediscovery recordings and concerts, have found their way on to numerous compact disc s, drifting in and out of print. His influence is still felt among contemporary bluesmen.citation needed|date=May 2009 James also left a mark on Hollywood, California|Hollywood , as well, with Chris Thomas King 's cover of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" on O Brother, Where Art Thou? , and the 1931 "Devil Got My Woman" featured in the plot and soundtrack of Ghost World (film)|Ghost World . In recent times, British post-rock band Hope of the States released a song partially focused on the life of Skip James entitled "Nehemiah", which charted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart .cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | page= 259 | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 "He's a Mighty Good Leader" was also covered by Beck on his 1994 album One Foot in the Grave (album)|One Foot in the Grave .
Personality
James was known to be an aloof and moody person.Dahl, Bill. Liner notes to D. C. Blues: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 . Fuel 2000 Records , CD, 1997 "Skip James, you never knew. Skip could be sunshine, or thunder and lightning depending on his whim of the moment" commented Richard K. Spottswood|Dick Spottswood on James's personality. He seldom socialized with other bluesmen and fans.citation needed|date=May 2009 Like John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey , James loathed the so-called "folkie" scene of the 1960s.citation needed|date=May 2009 He held a high regard for his own work and was reluctant to share musical ideas with other performers.citation needed|date=May 2009 Though the lyrical content of some of his songs led to the characterization of James as a misogynist , he remained with his wife Lorenzo (niece of Mississippi John Hurt ) until his death. He is buried with his wife at a private cemetery (Merion Memorial Park) just outside of Philadelphia in Bala Cynwyd , Pennsylvania.citation needed|date=December 2011
Musical style
James as guitarist
James often played his guitar with an open D-minor tuning (DADFAD), resulting in the "deep" sound of the 1931 recordings. James purportedly learned this tuning from his musical mentor, the unrecorded bluesman Henry Stuckey. citation needed|date=November 2009 Stuckey in turn was said to have acquired it from Bahamanian soldiers during the World War I|First World War citation needed|date=November 2009, despite the fact that his service card shows he didn't serve overseas. Robert Johnson also recorded in this tuning, his "Hell Hound On My Trail" being based on James' "Devil Got My Woman." James' classically-informed, finger-picking style was fast and clean, using the entire register of the guitar with heavy, hypnotic bass lines. citation needed|date=November 2009 James' style of playing had more in common with the Piedmont blues of the East Coast than with the Delta blues of his native Mississippi.citation needed|date=May 2009
The "Bentonia School"
James is sometimes associated with the Bentonia School (blues)|Bentonia School , which is either a sub-genre of blues music or a style of playing it. Calt, in his 1994 biography of James, ''I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues'', maintains that there was indeed no style of blues that originated in Bentonia, and that this is simply a notion of later blues writers who overestimated the provinciality of Mississippi during the early 20th century, when railways linked small towns, and who failed to see that in the case of Jack Owens (blues singer)|Jack Owens , "the 'tradition' he bore primarily consisted of musical scraps from James' table". Owens and other musicians who may have been contemporaries of James were not recorded until the 60s revival period. As such, the extent to which the work of said musicians is indicative of any "school", and whether James originated it or was simply a "member", remains an open question.
James, despite poor health, recorded several LPs worth of music, mostly revisiting his 1931 sides, traditional music, and spirituals; but along with these, he sang a handful of newly-penned blues meditating on his illness and convalescence. Unfortunately, these five prolific years have not been thoroughly documented: recordings, outtakes, and interviews not released on James's few proper LPs (which, themselves, have been endlessly cannibalized and reissued) are scattered among many small label compilations. Previously unreleased performances continue to be found, released, and left largely unexplained — sometimes hours' worth at a time. CD releases comprising entirely previously available material are denoted below.
Greatest of the Delta Blues Singers Melodeon Records|Melodeon , Biograph Records|Biograph , 1964
Blues Persondata | NAME = James, Skip | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = James, Nehemiah Curtis | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH = June 9, 1902 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Bentonia, Mississippi , United States | DATE OF DEATH = October 3, 1969 | PLACE OF DEATH = Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States DEFAULTSORT:James, Skip Category:1902 births Category:1969 deaths Category:People from Yazoo County, Mississippi Category:African American musicians Category:American blues guitarists Category:American blues musicians Category:Country blues singers Category:American male singers Category:American pianists Category:Songwriters from Mississippi Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blues musicians from Mississippi Category:Blues revival musicians Category:Country blues musicians Category:Delta blues musicians Category:American blues pianists Category:Vanguard Records artists Category:Cancer deaths in Mississippi Category:Deaths from cancer
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